In 1909, after the successful premiere of his Piano Concerto #2, Sergei Rachmaninoff launched his first concert tour of the United States. The journey was undertaken much against his will. Three months of almost daily concert appearances, both as soloist and as conductor, held little appeal, for not much time would remain for composition. Moreover, he would be deprived of the quiet times on his country estate with his wife and young children.
Yet then, as is the case now, the best way to promote one’s music is to play it before the public, and so early in October 1909, Rachmaninoff boarded ship to cross the Atlantic. Packed in his luggage was the manuscript for a new concerto, completed the previous week. During the voyage, Rachmaninoff practiced the solo part as time permitted.
The premiere took place on November 28, 1909, with Rachmaninoff as soloist with the New York Symphony Orchestra. Some weeks later, it would be heard in New York again, this time as conducted by no less a figure than Gustav Mahler and the New York Philharmonic.
The music writer for the New York Herald declared it to be one of “the most interesting piano concertos of recent years,” whereas the New York Tribunewriter praised the work for its “essential dignity and beauty.”
Here is pianist Yuja Wang to perform this amazing work:
